Potato Bacon Torte

The way to my husbands heart is bacon. If I could incorporate bacon into everything I made he would be a very happy boy. This year we celebrated American Thanksgiving at our home. We had several of Mr Reeds extended family come in to share the day together. I prepped this crust the evening before & served it for breakfast for Mr Reeds mom; himself & I then we got to work on prepping the delicious turkey dinner! This recipe is one that I pulled out of Food Network's December issue - & it was well worth it as this will be my new crust recipe from now on.

FOR THE CRUST
food pprocessor
2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

1 cup filled with 3 ice cubes & water

FOR THE FILLING
4 strips bacon (I opted for 1 cup precooked bacon pieces)
1 cup heavy cream

3 sprigs thyme, plus leaves for topping

3 medium baking potatoes, peeled

   salt & pepper

1/4 cup grated cheese

1 large egg yolk

1) Make the crust: Pulse the butter, flour & salt in the food processor until the mixture looks like a slightly wet sand

2) Add 8 to 10 tbsps ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough just begins to clump together

3) Divide the dough between 2 resealable plastic bags & pat into disks

4) Refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or overnight)

5) Roll out 1 disk of dough between 2 floured wax sheets of paper into a 10 inch round

6) Fit dough into a 9 inch pie plate & refrigerate

7) Preheat oven to 375F

8) Bring the cream & thyme sprigs to a bare simmer in a saucepan over low heat

9) Remove from heat; let steep 5 minutes. Remove thyme

10) Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

11) Remove the pie plate from the fridge & add a layer of potato slices over the dough in a circular pattern, overlapping

12) Season with salt & pepper & sprinkle with about 1/4 of the bacon

13) Continue layering until the pan is nearly full

14) Top evenly with cheese

15) gently pour the cream over the torte; allowing it to seep down between the potato slices

16) Roll out the remaining disk of dough into a 10 inch round floured surface

17) Lay the dough over the filling; press the edges of the 2 crusts together to crimp them closed

18) Beat the egg yolk with a splash of water & brush on the top crust

19) With a sharp knife, cut a few slits in the center of the crust to let the steam escape

20) Put the torte on on a baking sheet & bake until the crust is browned; 50 minutes to 1 hour (cover the edges with foil if they brown too quickly)

21) Let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges; top with thyme leaves